


Lessons in Falling

by angellwings



Series: Lessons [2]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Comedy, Established Relationship, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, One Shot, Romance, roller skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 12:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4787624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellwings/pseuds/angellwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake takes Cassandra roller skating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lessons in Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Once again found an OTP prompt I liked to base an established relationship piece on for these two! Hope you guys like it! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! I'll put the prompt at the end for you guys! Happy reading!  
> angellwings

They were working a case when she first dropped this particular bombshell on him. She’d given him information like this before while on cases but he’d yet to actually do anything with any of it. She’d told him about bowling and ping pong and fooseball and baseball and…football, which particularly hurt and each time he’d stored the information but never gone past that. Once they’d started dating she’d occasionally tell him even more stories that made his heart hurt for the child she never had the chance to be and he promised himself that sometime soon he would do something about that.

This time he was actually putting action behind his thoughts. It wasn’t where he thought he’d start with this but it was the opportunity he’d been given. He planned to take it.

“You’ve never been roller skating?” He asked once they made the return trip to the Annex. “Not once?”

“No,” she told him with a sad smile and a shrug. “I told you, my parents were very selective with my extra curricular activities.”

“But they approved of archery?” He asked with a furrowed brow.

“Archery seemed useful to them. It also helped me work on my hand eye coordination and required concentration and focus. Not to mention it seemed sophisticated and impressive to any Ivy League schools we were interested in. It also gave me the appearance of a well-rounded student and brought my parents into much more impressive social circles. It had more benefits, logically, than roller skating or bowling or anything that might actually be fun for me,” she explained as she watched him disconnect the cables for the door.  “It had advantages that they liked.”

He had to admit he could relate to that. His own father and pushed him toward football for some of those same reasons, though, that was a bit different because Jake did actually like football. He knew he’d never be great at it and he hadn’t wanted it to be all he was in high school but he had enjoyed playing it. And he still played the occasional game with his buddies when he managed to make it home.

“Still, there had to be some things they let you do, you know, for fun?” He asked. He should know these answers by now. He _did_ know these answers, honestly, but it still shocked him every time she revealed something else seeming commonplace that she’d never done.

“Science and math _were_ my fun,” she told with another sad smile. “Most of the time.”

“Well, then we are going to do something about this,” he told her with a smile. “There’s a rink close to the coffee shop I go to.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh no. You want me to skate?” She asked in horror. “In front of _people_?”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” He asked with an encouraging smile.

“Well, for starters I could hallucinate or have a seizure while on wheels and I can’t imagine that would be good for anyone, not to mention embarrassing for you—you really wanna be the guy with the girlfriend who—" 

“Cassie, honestly, I couldn’t care less what those strangers would think if that were to happen. I’d be a little too worried about you to even notice, darlin’,” he said as he stepped closer took her hands in his. “Besides, it ain't gonna. You’ll be fine. And if it does, well, I’ll be right there beside you. I’ve caught you every time before haven’t I? That’s not gonna change now.”

She blushed and smiled sheepishly at him. “I know, I know. You’re right. I’m overreacting.”

He chuckled and kissed her temple. “Just a little, but it’s understandable. It won’t be scary. I promise. We’ll go slow.”

She took a nervous breath and smiled hesitantly. “If you say so.”

* * *

 

When they got to the rink, they realized there weren’t many people there that night. Jacob supposed it made sense for a weeknight since kids had school and adults had work. Cassandra looked relieved at any rate and seemed less nervous than before. They rented skates, the standard rental ones that this place had probably had forever. They were tan with huge orange wheels and well used brakes on the toe.

“The brake is on the toe?” She asked him dubiously. “Not exactly the best way to prevent your momentum from pushing you forward. And, you know, causing you to _fall_.”

He chuckled at her. “In skates it doesn’t really matter. If you’re gonna fall, then you’re gonna fall. Really no way to stop it.”

“That’s encouraging,” she said dryly as she laced up her second skate. He finished lacing his as well and stood first. He glided forward and stopped in front of Cassandra to offer his hand to help her up. She stared at his hand apprehensively.

“Better late than never, sweetheart,” he said with an encouraging smile.

She bit her bottom lip nervously and accepted his hand up. He gingerly pulled her to her feet. She wobbled for a brief moment before she found her balance.

“Good,” he told her. “See? Not so bad.”

“So long as I don’t move,” she told him.

He chuckled and released her hand before holding out the crook of his arm instead. She eagerly accepted and looped her arm through his. She clutched his arm tight as they slowly rolled their way to the rink’s hardwood surface. He stopped her on the hardwood and smiled warmly at her before lifting one of her hands to his lips quickly. “Look at that,” he said with a teasing grin. “You made it two whole feet and didn’t stumble once.”

“Let’s not celebrate just yet,” she told him with a playful glare. “This rink is an oval. Eventually I’ll have to try and turn.”

He laughed and squeezed her hand. “One step at a time.”

The first step, he thought, was getting her to stop clutching his arm like a lifeline. He loosened her hold on his arm and then held her hand instead. He laced their fingers together and then let her drift several inches away from him.

“Jacob,” she said in a warning tone.

“Cassandra,” he repeated back to her in the same tone. Except where her glare was wary his glance was amused. “I’m not gonna let go. I’m just giving you a little more space.” She didn’t appear to like that idea so he decided to try something else. “Okay, hold on." He kept a hold of her hand but skated a little ways ahead of her and then turned to face her. He took her other hand and then began to pull her along while holding both hands.

“Are you—are you skating _backwards_?” She asked him in disbelief.

He shrugged. “Just a little something I know.”

“Now you’re just showing off,” she told him with a teasing grin.

“Yeah, well, gotta impress you somehow,” he said with a chuckle.

“You impress me every day,” she told him immediately. “You know that, right? You impress me just by being you, _every day_.”

He felt a swell of affection in his chest and couldn’t stop the huge smile that took over his face at her words. He took a moment to take her in. Her serious and honest expression and her beautiful blue eyes that watched his reaction closely would both be burned into his memory forever now. He nodded, stopped and pulled her against him. He held her tightly around the waist with one arm and then brought another one up to brush a hand across her cheek and tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

“I know and you are a damn strong woman who constantly amazes me,” he told her softly. He gave her a quick gentle kiss on the lips and then pulled away with a smirk. “So, you know what that means?”

“What?” She asked in a flustered daze as he held her hands again and resumed skating backwards.

“It means skating should be a piece of cake,” he told her with a chuckle. “You’ve got this in the bag, darlin’.”

After about five minutes of him leading her around she seemed pretty steady on her own. He’d even let her lead them through the turn, not that he’d told her that.

“Ready to try it on your own?” He asked her. She gave him an alarmed look and he squeezed both of her hands. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded and then reluctantly released his hands. He stuck to his promise and stayed close the entire time. She was a little shaky but she was staying upright and not holding onto him or the railing on the wall next to them. So far, so good.  And then one wheel got away from her and her foot slipped. He sped up just enough to catch her by the waist and pull her into him. It left them in a position that looked almost like an intentional dip. She looked a little shaken but not scared.

He smiled warmly at her. “See, I got you. In fact, I think that may have looked a little like we did that on purpose.”

She laughed and shook her head at him. “I sincerely doubt that.”

He pulled her upright and kissed her nose briefly with a wink. “Nah, I think we fooled ‘em.”

“I’m almost certain my look of sheer panic negated any and all smooth moves on your part, Jacob,” she said with a chuckle. “It was a good try though. Solid effort.”

He laughed and motioned ahead of him. “Go on. You were doing pretty well.”

She moved to go ahead but slipped again and quickly grabbed onto his shoulders to steady herself. It didn’t quite work and legs completely slipped out from under her. He compensated by holding her tightly and managed to stop her before her butt hit the ground. This time she laughed loudly as she fell and he couldn’t help but laugh with her. She adjusted her arms to wrap around his neck and he put his around her waist and pulled her back up to a standing position.

“Now I understand why you wanted to do this so badly, Jake,” She said with a coy smile. “So far it’s been a lot of you holding me close. Was that part of the plan?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Surprisingly, no. But I’m not complaining.”

“Me neither,” she said with a chuckle. She took a deep fortifying breath, squared her shoulders and then said, “Okay, one more time. Here we go.”

He smirked after her as she started to skate off again. She looked a lot better now. More confident and definitely a lot steadier on her feet. He stuck close anyway, just in case. Sometimes he’d skate a little ways behind her and then others he’d skate backwards in front of her. Finally, she seemed to really be enjoying herself. She seemed relaxed for the first time since she’d put on the skates, which was good. She was having fun now and, as always, looked absolutely beautiful.

But apparently, he’d been so busy watching her that he forgot to turn.

“Jake, look out!” Cassandra said as she attempted to warn him.

Unfortunately he hit the wall just as she’d called out to him and he immediately crumpled to the ground. There was a moment of silence before he heard a light stifled laugh and Cassandra slowly skated into his vision. She had a hand placed over her mouth to cover her grin, but her eyes gave her amusement away completely. She slowly removed her hand from her mouth and bit her bottom lip as she asked, “Are you okay? Did you hurt anything?”

He winced and sat up reluctantly. “Just my pride.”

“I’m sure. That was a pretty impressive fall. You made some truly hysterical faces,” she said with a teasing chuckle. “It was kind of cute, actually.”

He quirked a brow at her. “My pain is cute?”

“Only when you take a cartoon prat fall,” she said with a sheepish grin. “Your arms flailed.”

He grinned at her amusement and then rolled his eyes as he held a hand out to her. “Help me up, will you?”

She nodded and put her hand in his and as soon as he had her hand in his grasp he pulled her down with him. She faltered and fell with a squeal and a laugh. “You jerk!” She exclaimed with a chuckle.

He laughed and pulled her into his side and put an arm around her shoulders. “Much better.”

She rolled her eyes at him and smacked his chest playfully. “That was mean.”

“Got you down here, didn’t it?” He asked as he raised his eyebrows suggestively. “So, what to do with you while you’re here?” He asked with a lopsided grin.

A voice came over the speakers announcing that it was time for the couples only skate and Cassandra’s eyes lit up.

“That’s so cute! Did you know they did that?” She asked him eagerly.

“All these places do that,” he told her with a nod.

“Well, come on then, get up,” she said as she tried to sit up. He held her tighter to keep her from moving and she huffed at him. “Jacob Stone.”

“I’m much happier here, thanks,” he told her with a grin and a wink. He kissed the top of her head and then said, “It’s cozier this way.”

“We’ll be in the way,” she told him.

He shrugged and then playfully tugged at a strand of her hair. “They can go around us.”

She laughed and shook her head at him. “You’re ridiculous. But if all you want is an excuse to hold me then get up and couples skate with me. I could always let you catch me a few more times,” she said as she rolled onto her side to face him. She grinned mischievously at him and then placed a lingering kiss on his neck. When she spoke again her voice was low and husky. “I would not object to being pressed closely against you. _Trust me_.”

He was up quicker than he thought possible with a hand held out to help her up. She smiled coyly at him as she stood with an air of triumph that was undeniably sexy. She giggled and then let him pull her into the couples skate by their joined hands.

“One couples skate,” he told her. “And then we’re going _home_. I think maybe you need a few _private_ skating lessons.”

Her flirtatious giggle and eager nod was all the agreement he needed. He would definitely be doing this sort of thing more often. There were so many activities she’d missed out on and he could think of many more private lessons he’d probably enjoy _just_ as much. 

“Remind me to teach you how to play football,” he said with a smirk and a wink. “ _Touch_ football.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the OTP prompt I used if you'd like to try it yourself!  
> -Imagine Person A trying to teach Person B how to skate. Person B keeps falling, but they eventually get the hang of it. When it is finally time for the Couples Skate event, Person A is the one who ends up falling.  
> I'd love to see what someone else would do with this too!  
> Thanks for reading!  
> angellwings


End file.
